Fall Trip to Colorado and Utah
Oct 15th, 2015 | 10:47 AM
#1
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Joined: Dec 2008
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Fall Trip to Colorado and Utah
We headed to Colorado for a family wedding and decided to add a few days before the celebration to revisit some of our favorite places and hit some sites that we hadn’t been to yet.
The flight from Hartford was the best ever since we were going non-stop and were steered to the pre-approved line in security and did not have to take off our shoes or take out our liquids and there was no one in the line. We haven’t paid for the pre check, so I guess we fit the geezer/tourist/no threat profile.
Lodging:
We were being cost aware on this trip so mostly stayed at less expensive chain motels. There was a great difference in the quality of these which had no relationship to the nightly cost but was more related to the popularity of the town/city we were in. All the places had comfortable beds, clean linens and clean bathrooms. All offered some kind of breakfast, but some had hot eggs, sausage etc. while many had only pastry/cereal/toast and coffee/tea/orange juice. Some of the places that were new or have had recent renovation had wood floors rather than carpet which is nice for folks with allergies and eliminates the stains on the carpets.
The trip:
We drove from Denver/Golden to Dinosaur NP via Steamboat Springs. The trip along 40 was beautiful with the Aspens yellow and no road construction. Two nights in Vernal to explore Dinosaur NP and go to Mc Konkie ranch petroglyph site. Left the ranch in the late morning and drove to Moab.
We stopped for an early lunch/late brunch on the road and went to Arches in the early afternoon. The hike to delicate arch has been on our bucket list for a while and we have done most of the other arches, soooo we decided that this was the day to do it. We made it to the arch and back safely and without injury. I must say that the 3 mile rt seemed like 6 miles and the 480 ft elevation gain from an altitude near 5000 ft for folks in their mid 70s who live at sea level, resulted in lots of stops to get some breath and drink water. Oh yes, we should have done this 50 years ago, when we could go up a 48 story building without thinking we would collapse. We are so glad we did it now and do not plan to repeat the trip any time soon.
After Delicate Arch, we needed a sit down and an early supper. When we left the restaurant we saw that there had been a lot of rain that neither of us noticed happening while we were eating. The night was spent in Moab.
The next day we headed into Canyonlands Island in the Sky and drove out to Grand View which when we arrived had mist/fog below the rim which cleared as we hiked out the trail along the rim. It was neat to watch the view appear as the time went on. That view never gets old. Then we went to Mesa Arch for one of the most spectacular vistas through the arch that you will see anywhere.
From Canyonlands we headed to Cortez, CO for the night before heading to Mesa Verde. The Wetherill Mesa section of MV has always been closed when we visited in the past, so it also was a bucket list item. This year they extended the days for visiting but without ranger led tours. The drive out on Wetherill is neat, but plan on 45 minutes to get to the sites. We hiked out to the pit house and ruin sites and then went to the Long house overlook. We did have one meeting with a wild horse who blocked the path for a few minutes before he would let us pass which was neat. There were no tours of Long House after Labor Day, so we could only look from a distance. A ranger was at the trail head when we got back and she said that finances prevented them from staffing Long House and Step House so that people could not visit them. She also said that they didn’t have the tram to take people to the trail to Long House this summer, so people had to hike out, something to consider since this is at quite a high altitude and people from elevation 0 do need time to acclimate.
After MV we headed to Durango for the night. We had never done the million dollar hwy from Durango, through Silverton and Ouray so off we went. The views were spectacular. We did get stopped for construction/rebuilding, (once where it looked like the inside cliff had fallen into the southbound lane), for about 20 or 30 minutes and another time for a shorter stop. The drive is beautiful, but do be aware that it is mostly one lane each way with steep grades, tight switchbacks, and no guardrails in many, many places.
We were going to the wedding the next day, so headed to Grand Junction to pick up I-70 for the eastbound trip instead of going on smaller roads. I-70 had either paving or surface grinding most of the way east with one lane closed in many places and the Glenwood Canyon area is one lane for a few miles. If you need to be somewhere on time, add a bit to your estimated trip.
We were ready for a rest by the time we got to Georgetown, so pulled off and spent the night there. Went to a nice place for pizza and beer that had a kind of bluegrass band and lots of folks having fun.
The next day it was off to Golden for the wedding. Fun with family etc.
Our departure was complicated a bit by the Southwest computer breakdown. We had to go to the airport to get our boarding passes. They had like 30 terminals with agents running frantic people and were not able to change flights or sell seats and had lines out the door. Not pretty.
Our return to CT was without incident, and the view of our home state was glorious. The Maples and Birches were red, yellow and orange against the background of the still green oaks fantastic. The couple next to us were from south Texas and had never been to New England and gasped when they saw the view on landing.
The flight from Hartford was the best ever since we were going non-stop and were steered to the pre-approved line in security and did not have to take off our shoes or take out our liquids and there was no one in the line. We haven’t paid for the pre check, so I guess we fit the geezer/tourist/no threat profile.
Lodging:
We were being cost aware on this trip so mostly stayed at less expensive chain motels. There was a great difference in the quality of these which had no relationship to the nightly cost but was more related to the popularity of the town/city we were in. All the places had comfortable beds, clean linens and clean bathrooms. All offered some kind of breakfast, but some had hot eggs, sausage etc. while many had only pastry/cereal/toast and coffee/tea/orange juice. Some of the places that were new or have had recent renovation had wood floors rather than carpet which is nice for folks with allergies and eliminates the stains on the carpets.
The trip:
We drove from Denver/Golden to Dinosaur NP via Steamboat Springs. The trip along 40 was beautiful with the Aspens yellow and no road construction. Two nights in Vernal to explore Dinosaur NP and go to Mc Konkie ranch petroglyph site. Left the ranch in the late morning and drove to Moab.
We stopped for an early lunch/late brunch on the road and went to Arches in the early afternoon. The hike to delicate arch has been on our bucket list for a while and we have done most of the other arches, soooo we decided that this was the day to do it. We made it to the arch and back safely and without injury. I must say that the 3 mile rt seemed like 6 miles and the 480 ft elevation gain from an altitude near 5000 ft for folks in their mid 70s who live at sea level, resulted in lots of stops to get some breath and drink water. Oh yes, we should have done this 50 years ago, when we could go up a 48 story building without thinking we would collapse. We are so glad we did it now and do not plan to repeat the trip any time soon.
After Delicate Arch, we needed a sit down and an early supper. When we left the restaurant we saw that there had been a lot of rain that neither of us noticed happening while we were eating. The night was spent in Moab.
The next day we headed into Canyonlands Island in the Sky and drove out to Grand View which when we arrived had mist/fog below the rim which cleared as we hiked out the trail along the rim. It was neat to watch the view appear as the time went on. That view never gets old. Then we went to Mesa Arch for one of the most spectacular vistas through the arch that you will see anywhere.
From Canyonlands we headed to Cortez, CO for the night before heading to Mesa Verde. The Wetherill Mesa section of MV has always been closed when we visited in the past, so it also was a bucket list item. This year they extended the days for visiting but without ranger led tours. The drive out on Wetherill is neat, but plan on 45 minutes to get to the sites. We hiked out to the pit house and ruin sites and then went to the Long house overlook. We did have one meeting with a wild horse who blocked the path for a few minutes before he would let us pass which was neat. There were no tours of Long House after Labor Day, so we could only look from a distance. A ranger was at the trail head when we got back and she said that finances prevented them from staffing Long House and Step House so that people could not visit them. She also said that they didn’t have the tram to take people to the trail to Long House this summer, so people had to hike out, something to consider since this is at quite a high altitude and people from elevation 0 do need time to acclimate.
After MV we headed to Durango for the night. We had never done the million dollar hwy from Durango, through Silverton and Ouray so off we went. The views were spectacular. We did get stopped for construction/rebuilding, (once where it looked like the inside cliff had fallen into the southbound lane), for about 20 or 30 minutes and another time for a shorter stop. The drive is beautiful, but do be aware that it is mostly one lane each way with steep grades, tight switchbacks, and no guardrails in many, many places.
We were going to the wedding the next day, so headed to Grand Junction to pick up I-70 for the eastbound trip instead of going on smaller roads. I-70 had either paving or surface grinding most of the way east with one lane closed in many places and the Glenwood Canyon area is one lane for a few miles. If you need to be somewhere on time, add a bit to your estimated trip.
We were ready for a rest by the time we got to Georgetown, so pulled off and spent the night there. Went to a nice place for pizza and beer that had a kind of bluegrass band and lots of folks having fun.
The next day it was off to Golden for the wedding. Fun with family etc.
Our departure was complicated a bit by the Southwest computer breakdown. We had to go to the airport to get our boarding passes. They had like 30 terminals with agents running frantic people and were not able to change flights or sell seats and had lines out the door. Not pretty.
Our return to CT was without incident, and the view of our home state was glorious. The Maples and Birches were red, yellow and orange against the background of the still green oaks fantastic. The couple next to us were from south Texas and had never been to New England and gasped when they saw the view on landing.
Oct 15th, 2015 | 05:46 PM
#3
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,659
Likes: 0
Emalloy--
You've read a number of trip reports of mine in the past, so it was a real treat for me to find one of yours here. Sounds like you got to see some beautiful spots in that neck of the southwest. I loved Glenwood Canyon; seems that I've got a lot yet to see in that part of the country!
Best wishes, Daniel
You've read a number of trip reports of mine in the past, so it was a real treat for me to find one of yours here. Sounds like you got to see some beautiful spots in that neck of the southwest. I loved Glenwood Canyon; seems that I've got a lot yet to see in that part of the country!
Best wishes, Daniel
Oct 16th, 2015 | 03:39 AM
#4
Original Poster
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 5,904
Likes: 0
Dayle, yes it was great to get to make it up to Delicate Arch. Thanks
Daniel, This is a fantastic area to explore. Get out there, spring or fall are the best for weather and the crowds are not too bad then either.
I have a couple of pictures posted some pictures at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/emallo...57659898317125
There are lots more in the other flickr albums.
Daniel, This is a fantastic area to explore. Get out there, spring or fall are the best for weather and the crowds are not too bad then either.
I have a couple of pictures posted some pictures at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/emallo...57659898317125
There are lots more in the other flickr albums.
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